Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Six: Last of the Guthnar (Patreon)

The instant the wall crumbled, I was through.

A Raptor Guard turned to face me. Not your day, buddy.

The MDR barked.

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

In an instant, the other Raptors had pivoted towards me and opened fire.

Dodge Bullets activated, and the shots went wide.

At which point the Raptor at the workstation stood up and roared:

“HALT!”

The force of the words hit me.

YOU ARE UNDER PSIONIC ATTACK!

ATTACK STRENGTH: 200

PSYDEF: 146

ACTIVE DEFENCES ACTIVATED. DRAIN: 54 / SECOND. PSIONIC DEFENSE POOL: 11738.

I activated Rational Mind.

Clarity cascaded upon me. No emotion. No hate. No rage.

No feeling.

The Raptor stood up. “You lead these humans, is it?” it said, in English.

Fantastic. More confirmation that the Hierarchy could understand us far better than we expected.

The being folded his hands, all traces of the uncertainty I’d seen in Singapore gone.

“I applaud your courage, battlelord. Let us discuss terms.”

Behind me, the rest of the human contingent had frozen in surprise. Or…

Not surprise.

AREA EFFECT APPLIED: PSIONIC PARALYSIS WAVE.

PUPPETMASTER MIND-CONTROL FUSED WITH XERANAI TECHNOLOGY ENABLE THIS SOPHISTICATED AREA DEFENSE THAT CAN BE ACTIVATED BY A MEMBER OF THE SPINE.

ALL ENEMY COMBATANTS WITHIN A RANGE OF 100 METRES FACE A STRENGTH 200 PSIONIC ATTACK. THOSE WHO ARE UNABLE TO RESIST FIND THEMSELVES TRAPPED IN THEIR BODIES, UNABLE TO MOVE.

<Belessar>: We need backup.

<Nanocloud>: On it.

I faced the Raptor. “Let my people go. Then we’ll talk.”

“If I let go, my people die. I swear upon the bones of my ancestors that they will be set free if we secure terms. Is that acceptable?”

I took a step forward. “You have until I reach you to talk. Propose something effective before that.”

“Time pressure. Clever. You want your planet freed of the Hierarchy. I want safe passage for my people. Agree, and we can make peace between us.”

I snorted. “You’re a Guthnar scion. Your words will not bind the Xeranai, or the Puppetmasters, or the Archons. What are they worth?”

“We have the forces to bleed you until the siege fleet comes to our rescue. Do not delude yourselves – destroying a single battleship is meaningless. The Xeranai have hundreds more.”

Another step forward. “The siege fleet, come to your rescue?”

“Even now they prepare to relieve us.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Bahurnivaras of the Guthnar. The siege fleet has not so much as moved from its position. They sit, unmolested, beyond the reach of our weapons. They have left you – and yours – to die.”

“We are the elite of the Guthnar. The most loyal servants of the Hierarchy. The house that holds together the Raptor Coalition of Clans. You think they will abandon us so easily? You do not know your peril.”

One more step. “I know that your masters have not so much as moved to a nearer orbit. No more Battleships breach the shield. No rescue is coming for you.”

“We have sent word to our homeworld. The other Raptor clans will come for you, to wipe out your people.”

“The day they breach the shield, I will be waiting. With more of the weapons that felled the Xeranai.”

“Do you not understand? We of the Raptor Clans train how to fight in the deep and the dark. You can try to take us, but we will bleed you every step of the way. There are hundreds of thousands of us – far more than you have ever faced.”

“Seven hundred thousand. Out of two million.” I drew the Nanothorn Kukri. “We have slain more than half of your troops. I personally killed Daemoras, Vasilthormenias, and Levasikarthemas today. The only terms I can offer you are unconditional surrender.”

A strange expression came over Bahurnivaras’ face. “You killed Levasikarthemas.”

“And Esselketharimus, when he came to raid Earth. And I took Sarvenimazarus prisoner.”

“The others were warriors. Levasikarthemas was a boy. One forced into servitude by the Xeranai, who never had the chance to grow.” Bahurnivaras gripped the crystal lens tightly. “The last hope of the Guthnar – and you killed him before he could ever live.”

“You and yours have killed thousands of humans. Consider this your just desserts.”

“I am glad, human, that you did not accept my terms. At least I will have the chance to avenge my son – even if it means the devil’s bargain.” Bahurnivaras raised his arms, and spoke. “Computer. Integrate implant!”

Black lightning burst forth from the crystal array, wrapping the Raptor in waves of shimmering darkness. The darkness solidified, layers of shadow turning into solid lines of an unknown, mysterious armour.

Reflexively, I activated Observe.

BAHURNIVARAS, LORD OF THE GUTHNAR

LEVEL 70

HP: 15,800/15,800

EQUIPMENT:

BLADE OF ACCELERATING DESTRUCTION: STARTS WITH 100 DAMAGE/HIT. DAMAGE INCREASES BY 50% PER MISSED OR BLOCKED BLOW, CUMULATIVELY.

SWORD OF SLOW CONSUMPTION: 50 DAMAGE/HIT. INFLICTS CONDITION ‘CONSUMING DRAIN’ ON ENEMIES. 25 HP DRAIN PER SECOND. STACKS CUMULATIVELY.

CYBERNETIC COMBAT IMPLANT:

INCREASES REACTION SPEED 2X. GRANTS ADDITIONAL ABILITIES:

BATTLE LEADER: +10% REACTION SPEED FOR EACH SURVIVING MEMBER OF HONOUR GUARD.

FOLDSPACE WEAVE ARMOUR: 15,000 ARMOUR POINTS, 250 DAMAGE NEGATION.

IMMUNITY TO RANGED WEAPONS. REQUIRES CYBERNETIC COMBAT IMPLANT.

ABILITIES:

HYPER-EVASION: 99% REDUCED CHANCE TO HIT VIA ANY WEAPON.

BATTLECOGNITION: CAN PREDICT AN ENEMY’S MOVES IN COMBAT AND COUNTER THEM IN ADVANCE.

MINDSHIELD: ARMOUR PROTECTS AGAINST MENTAL ASSAULT.

RALLY: REMOVES PANIC AND RESTORES ORDER AMONGST TERRIFIED OR DISPIRITED RAPTOR SOLDIERS WITHIN A 1 KILOMETRE RADIUS. COOLDOWN: 30 SECONDS.

…. Holy hell.

That was tougher than Daemoras had been.

And I didn’t have my missiles, or the Greyhound armour.

Not to mention that – yeah – virtually the entire team was frozen behind me.

Bahurnivaras had a 2x multiplier to reaction speed, plus a 10% bonus from each of his Honour Guards – of which I’d killed one.

Leaving forty-nine.

Effectively, he’d be moving at 11.8 times the speed of a normal Raptor.

Which manifested itself the very next instant, as he charged.

Twin blades in hand – and I had no time to tell which was which.

The image of the blades blurred, and then the first struck.

BATTLECOGNITION BYPASSES ABILITY: EVADE BLOWS.

DAMAGE TAKEN! 100 DAMAGE. ARMOR: 900/1000.

SHOCKWAVE EFFECT!

The force of the blow flung me backwards.

Something slammed into my back.

WALL IMPACT. 18 DAMAGE NEGATED.

On a normal person that would have broken bones.

Bahurnivaras lunged towards me. Desperate, I brought up the Nanothorn Kukri and activated Parry.

BLADE OF ACCELERATING DESTRUCTION PARRIED. POWER BOOSTED TO 150.

And the other blade bit into my shoulder.

BATTLECOGNITION BYPASSES ABILITY: EVADE BLOWS.

DAMAGE TAKEN! 50 DAMAGE. ARMOR: 850/1000.

STATUS EFFECT INFLICTED: ‘CONSUMING DRAIN’. -25 HP/SECOND.

Pain shot through my arm. The armour was still intact ….

Dammit. Consuming Drain probably bypassed inorganic material to attack tissues directly. I’d never thought to include a defense against that type of attack.

The Blade of Accelerating Destruction swung again, and I Parried.

POWER BOOSTED TO 225.

And in a one-two rhythm, the Sword of Slow Consumption stuck low.

This time, I was ready.

A javelin isn’t the most elegant tool to parry with, but it’s what I had. The Sword was blocked.

Impasse.

I invoked Cure.

CONSUMING DRAIN REQUIRES CURE LEVEL 15 TO REMOVE. CONDITIONS MET.

STATUS EFFECT ‘CONSUMING DRAIN’ REMOVED.

Bahurnivaras backpedaled.

One moment, our weapons were locked, and then he was ten feet away. Preparing for a charge, doubtless.

So when he lunged, I activated Teleport.

A portal opened in front of the surprised Scion. Not a large one – just enough to deposit him across the room.

The charging Scion slammed into the opposite wall.

I swapped my Javelin for the MDR.

Bahurnivaras spun to face me, then laughed. He spread his arms.

“Come, take your best shot!”

“It’s not for you.”

I fired.

Mass driver rounds sliced through the Honour Guard.

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

Three shots was enough to warn Bahurnivaras of my intentions. The Scion charged.

Too fast for me to throw out a portal. Too fast to dodge.

There are laws of combat. Laws that cannot be broken, no matter how vicious and hostile your intentions.

And the most important of these laws is the one of action and reaction.

Bahurnivaras was charging at me with the momentum of a small car.

So when I activated Powercharge, we slammed into each other with the force of a car crash.

POWERCHARGE!

BAHURNIVARAS -564 HP!

SHOCKWAVE EFFECT!

Conservation of momentum must be obeyed.

The force of the impact threw both of us backwards. Bahurnivaras crashed onto the floor, I found myself smacking into another Honour Guard.

Waste not, want not. The Nanothorn Kukri swung.

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

At that point, the other members of the Honour Guard got into the mix.

If you’ve ever been in a scrum, or had the misfortune of being ‘dogpiled’….

Suffice to say, six armoured Raptors leaping on me and trying to pin me down was a stretch even on my Carry Capacity.

But.

Never dogpile someone with an edged weapon.

Three seconds later, six more Raptors were down.

6x RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +3,750 XP!

“Leave him to me!”

The Raptors backed off as Bahurnivaras strode forward.

He seemed … a bit slower.

Thirty-nine surviving Honour Guards. Meaning his speed was now only 7.8 times a normal Raptor.

Thoughts flashed through my mind. Speed was a function of many things, but mostly Strength and Dexterity. Mostly Dexterity.

Raptors had 12 DEX.

Bahurnivaras was moving like someone with … 117 DEX.

I had 56 DEX – which meant I could match his speed, if the multiplier dropped to 4.6. In other words, I had to reduce his Honour Guard to thirteen to match him.

Easier said than done. Bahurnivaras was on his feet, advancing on me with swift, determined steps, both blades ready for action.

<Nanocloud>: Duck.

When the all-seeing one tells you to duck, you duck.

The missile that streaked above my head came as a surprise to everyone.

Bahurnivaras was fast enough to dodge. The same couldn’t be said of his Honour Guard.

One fellow found himself in the path of the projectile. In an instant, he was pasted against the wall.

And then the world went white. And silent.

<Nanocloud>: It’s a flashbang.

The moment of blindness passed, and my sound suppressors cut out.

Some of the Honour Guard were on the ground, clutching their eyes. Others – the ones whose flash suppression had worked – had reflexively stopped what they were doing.

Only for a second. But that was enough.

I activated Chain Lightning.

Eight Raptors fell on the ground, convulsing, as electricity coursed through their bodies. Not enough to kill them.

That was reserved for the plasma grenade that followed.

8x RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +5,000 XP!

And then Bahurnivaras was upon me.

The blades blurred, slower than before, but still blazingly fast. Fast enough that it was all I could to block them with twin Parries.

And then the Nanoblade Javelin splintered, leaving the Sword of Slow Consumption biting into my shoulder.

DAMAGE TAKEN! 50 DAMAGE. ARMOR: 850/1000.

STATUS EFFECT INFLICTED: ‘CONSUMING DRAIN’. -25 HP/SECOND.

Pain hit immediately. Enough to slow me down.

Couldn’t afford that.

So I used Overhead Throw.

The Raptor clanlord had a moment of bewilderment as my left arm – with the sword wedged in it – picked him up and flung him overhead.

BAHURNIVARAS IS DISORIENTED. HYPER-EVASION NEUTRALIZED FOR 2.3 SECONDS.

I pirouetted, the Nanothorn Kukri striking at the prone enemy.

Who rolled out of the way. Even without Hyper-evasion, Bahurnivaras was fast enough to dodge my blows.

Needed to change that.

Couldn’t split my attention between his Honour Guard while he was in the field.

So as Bahurnivaras bounced back onto his feet, I turned and darted for the crystal computer.

An Honour Guard blocked my way. One flick of the Kukri.

RAPTOR ARMOURED TROOPER DEFEATED! +625 XP!

No more Honour Guard.

An instant later, I heard the sound of Bahurnivaras roaring. The alien was charging at me. Closing the distance, fast.

I turned to face him… and Powercharged again.

BAHURNIVARAS -564 HP!

SHOCKWAVE EFFECT!

The force of impact hurled both of us backwards. In the Raptor’s case, he slid to a halt a short distance across the floor.

And I slammed into the workstation holding the crystal computer.

FURNITURE DESTROYER ACTIVATED.

PSIONIC WAVE TRANSMITTER -4,000 HP. CURRENT HEALTH 0/250.

AREA EFFECT REMOVED: PSIONIC PARALYSIS WAVE.

YOUR ALLIES CAN NOW MOVE NORMALLY.

Unity charged forward, her roar almost shaking the cavern as she barrelled into a Raptor. The unlucky Honour Guard’s chest was caved in from a single hammerblow.

Tsuyoiken, Haganenoken, and Staalhuid followed Unity in a triangular wedge, slamming into the Honour Guards and letting loose with lightning-quick punches. To their left and right, the Wild Boars fired bolts of actual lightning. The soldiers of the 121st Regiment seamlessly flowed into positions securing the ultras’ flanks, and unleashed the power of the inventech rifles with an ease born out of long practice.

And from the earth, vines erupted, grabbing the Honour Guard and holding them in place.

Aspenthorn was in her element, pinning down the enemy for her allies.

Even as Honour Guards died, Bahurnivaras was reacting to the situation. Spinning towards the new threats, the Clanlord slashed his armour across Staalhuid’s chest. The ultra dropped to the ground with a scream.

A Clanlord was too much for the others to handle.

“Leave him to me!” I yelled.

Bahurnivaras turned to face me. Slower than before. “It is as it should be,” he growled in Raptor. “A battlelord should die against another battlelord, not at the hands of lessers.”

He sprung forward, Blade of Accelerating Destruction extended out.

This time, I let it land.

DAMAGE TAKEN! 100 DAMAGE. ARMOR: 700/1000.

At the same moment, Bahurnivaras swung the Sword of Slow Consumption, slicing into my armour.

DAMAGE TAKEN! 50 DAMAGE. ARMOR: 650/1000.

STATUS EFFECT INFLICTED: ‘CONSUMING DRAIN’. -25 HP/SECOND. STACKED EFFECT: TOTAL -50 HP/SECOND.

The pain grew, even as Healing Aura fought to reverse the effects.

Why didn’t I Parry the blows, you might ask?

Because I wanted my hands free.

My left arm lashed out, grabbing the Raptor Clanlord by the wrist, even as the Blade of Accelerated Destruction twisted.

YOU HAVE A GRIP ON YOUR OPPONENT.

STATUS EFFECT INFLICTED: GRAPPLE.

NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR OPPONENT CAN USE AUTOMATED EVASIVE TECHNIQUES WHILE GRAPPLING WITH EACH OTHER.

ABILITY NEUTRALIZED: HYPEREVASION.

SKILL NEUTRALIZED: EVADE BLOWS.

Bahurnivaras’ eyes went wide as the Nanothorn Kukri swung.

DEADLY BLOW! 5X DAMAGE! BAHURNIVARAS -14,300 HP!

The black-laced armour fragmented.

One moment, the armour plates – somewhat dented from two Powercharges but still functional – had been an unstoppable barrier against an enemy strike. The next, pieces of the ‘foldspace weave’ were flying across the room, turned into nothing more than hazardous shrapnel.

Such is the power of Deadly Blow.

BAHURNIVARAS OF THE GUTHNAR

CONDITION INFLICTED: SHATTERED RIBS.

Bahurnivaras roared, a mixture of rage and pain. He let go of the Blade, trying to retreat.

But I still held his wrist.

And I wasn’t done.

DEADLY BLOW! 5X DAMAGE! BAHURNIVARAS -14,300 HP!

BAHURNIVARAS OF THE GUTHNAR DEFEATED! +2500 XP!

The force of the second strike lanced through the Clanlord’s body, bones splintering. Blood splattered across my armour and helmet, severed vessels spraying it across the floor in a macabre fountain.

With that, Bahurnivaras of the Guthnar died. And my interface exploded with notifications.

QUEST COMPLETED: HONOR OF THE CLANS.

DESTABILIZE AND DESTROY THE RAPTOR CLAN GUTHNAR BY DEFEATING THEIR SCIONS AND THE CLANLORD.

3 CLANLORDS DEFEATED.

ALL SCIONS DEFEATED.

DELTA STAR BLADE DESTROYED.

1 STRATAGEM AVAILABLE: RAPTOR REVOLUTION.

+20,000 XP.

SKILL UNLOCKED: EDGED WEAPONS.

DUE TO YOUR PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH BLADES, THIS SKILL STARTS AT AN ADVANCED LEVEL.

DUE TO HAVING DEFEATED RAPTOR EDGELORDS ARMED WITH INVENTECH BLADES, THIS SKILL STARTS AT AN EXPERT LEVEL.

EDGED WEAPONS LEVEL 16: +160% BONUS TO DAMAGE WITH EDGED OR BLADED WEAPONS.

SKILL UPGRADED: HEALING AURA ADVANCES TO LEVEL 12.

HEALS UPTO 50 HP/SECOND FOR EACH ALLY WITHIN 50 METRES. COST: 50 MP/SECOND.

SKILL UPGRADED: CHAIN LIGHTNING ADVANCES TO LEVEL 3.

+180 DAMAGE PER ENEMY, UPTO 24 SIMULTANEOUS TARGETS.

LINKED SKILL UPGRADED: LIGHTNING STRIKE ADVANCES TO LEVEL 6.

DAMAGE: +180. COST: 25 MP.

BLUEPRINTS UNLOCKED:

VAMPIRE ROUND: ENHANCES MASS DRIVER OR RAILGUN ROUNDS TO ERODE ENEMY ARMOUR / HEALTH AFTER IMPACT.

COST: 1 MASS DRIVER / RAILGUN ROUND + 1000 MP.

ADDS EFFECT: VAMPIRIC DRAIN. ENEMY LOSES 25-5000 HP/SECOND, UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 1% OF ENEMY HEALTH.

QUEST COMPLETED: LAST OF THE GUTHNAR.

YOU HAVE SLAIN THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE LINE OF DAEMORAS AND ENDED A LINE THAT HAS ENDURED SINCE BEFORE THE RAPTORS LEFT THEIR HOMEWORLD.

YOU HAVE WREAKED A HAVOC ON THE GUTHNAR CLAN THAT WILL ENSURE YOUR NAME LIVES ON IN THEIR MEMORY – IN INFAMY.

THOUGH HUMANITY HAS PREVAILED, MILLIONS OF SENTIENT BEINGS WILL SUFFER FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.

AND FOR THIS, YOU SHALL RECEIVE A FITTING REWARD.

+5,000,000 XP.

+2 CHARISMA.

+2 WISDOM.

TITLE UNLOCKED:

BANE OF THE RAPTORS – RAPTOR TROOPS FACING YOU HAVE A 90% CHANCE TO BREAK AND RUN.

NEMESIS OF THE GUTHNAR – ANY CLANS ONCE ALLIED WITH THE GUTHNAR WILL FEAR AND HATE YOU. THAT’S ALL SURVIVING RAPTOR CLANS, BY THE WAY.

CURRENT XP: 8,037,622 / 10,900,000 REQUIRED FOR LEVEL 79.